ASU Crushes HU in First Round

Rachel Heaton
The Paw Print

Rachel Heaton

The Paw Print

The Adams State men’s basketball team hosted New Mexico Highlands University on Tuesday, March 5 in the quarterfinal round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) shootout. The contest tipped off at 7pm in front of a packed crowd.

The game, which turned out to be a dominating performance by the Grizzlies, ended with a final score of 91-74 in favor of ASU.

The Grizzlies jumped out to an early lead and were able to limit the Cowboys to only 5 points for just under the first ten minutes of the game. By this point, ASU had already established a 20 point lead. They didn’t let up, leading by  28 points near the end of the first half.

At half time, the score was 51-26. John Jackson (Chandler, Ariz.) contributed 13 points in the first half and as a team, the Grizzlies were shooting an impressive 51.3% from the field. The Cowboys were held to only 24%.

During halftime, the stunt team performed a routine and there was a flash mob sponsored by the ASU School of Business and the accounting club “Pacioli”.

Going into the second half, the Grizzlies maintained their solid double-digit lead. However, the Cowboys made efforts to come back, cutting Adams State’s lead to 13 points after going on a 10-0 run mid-way through the second half.

However, the Grizzlies were able to stop Highlands and pushed their lead up to 17 points by the end of the game.

Kaimyn Pruitt (Los Angeles, Calif.) was the Grizzlies’ high scorer for the game, totalling 27 points on the night. He also had 11 rebounds, good for his RMAC-leading 15th double-double on the season.

Jackson finished with 15 points and Shaheed Young (San Fransico, Calif.) had 14 points.

This Friday, the Grizzlies will travel to Denver to face #22 Fort Lewis Skyhawks in the semifinal round of the shootout with tipoff at 5pm.

The Skyhawks defeated Colorado School of Mines in overtime to advance. Fort Lewis’ win brings them up to 20-6 overall this season, while ASU’s win puts them at 20-7 overall.

Friday’s game will be hosted by Metro State University and played at theAuraria Events Center.

The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the championship game on Saturday at 7pm. They will face the winner of Friday’s contest between #4 Metro State and Colorado Mesa.